Why Moving to Cloud Will Help Improve Your Business?

October here at ProForecast is a month of integration and change! As we introduced multiple accounting software connectors to our software, we are looking why moving to the cloud will help improve your business!

Cloud technology has been a massive driver of change in all industries, but particularly it has completely changed the landscape of the financial industry, and itself has introduced a somewhat new industry, now commonly known as fintech.

However, the companies that are normally at the cutting edge of the new technologies, like banks and other financial firms, have been slower than most other sectors to outsource their financial technology to the cloud. But there are good reasons why that should change!

Security

Although there definitely are reasons for banks and financial organisations not to trust every fad that comes along, and the cloud is one of them. Data that banks and financial firms hold can be very sensitive, and their focus is strongly set on security issues.

Over the recent years cloud storage, especially for personal use, has not been reflected well. So, the idea of using a cloud storage can be alarming, as regulators expect this data to be kept secure.

The common misconception about public cloud computing is that organisation must give up the security of their own data as cloud service providers take over the responsibilities, but that’s not true.

While data stored in the cloud is nearly always stored in an encrypted form that would need to be cracked before an intruder could read the information. And commercial cloud storage systems encode each user’s data with a specific encryption key. Without it, the files look like nothing – rather than meaningful data.

On top of that, a large part of defining compliance policies and identifying classified data remains to be the companies’ responsibility. So, companies are still responsible for a large part of security, and are in fact, just adding more security to their data, rather than completely relying on the cloud platform.

Improve Flexibility and Scalability

Another benefit of moving to the cloud is the ability to rapidly scale processing capability up and down according to customer demands and market changes.

As we expressed before, in today’s customer-centric environment, the ability to stay flexible in the market is critical to remain competitive.

Working in the cloud and moving your financials to the cloud is a highly effective way to achieve scalability at a required pace, whatever that might mean for your business.

Cut Costs

Another common misconception about the cloud is the price. And the flexibility of the cloud allows to easily cut costs depending on demand on top of the other reasons. One such reason is that traditional data servers and on-premise solutions are expensive to operate and require staff that is trained to operate them.

Unfortunately, these costs have long been associated with the cloud service as well, and thus deterred many from switching.

But cloud computing means organisations do not have to invest in dedicated hardware and software with a limited shelf life.

Instead, the financial institutions can buy into the infrastructure of a secure and dedicated cloud service and focus on other aspects of their business.

Summary

Obviously, there are many more good reasons why the organisation should move their finances to the cloud, like streamlining their operations, improved efficiency and operating leverage. And many main risk factors associated with the use of cloud platforms only come from human errors on the customer side, and not the organisation itself. Thus, proving to be one of the most secure and efficient ways of dealing with the company’s financials and operations.

As the cloud adoption rate continues to grow, financial services organisations big and small must ensure that they do not disappear into obscurity by failing to keep pace with this key trend. And as cloud services progress further into digitisation the benefits of the cloud are becoming more important. This makes it crucial for businesses to act!

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